Personnel Biographies

Joyce McConnell

As the Provost of West Virginia University, Joyce McConnell, JD, LLM, is the chief academic officer responsible for the administration of all academic policies, programs, facilities, and budgetary matters. She is committed to WVU’s land-grant mission of ensuring access to exceptional education, supporting and facilitating innovative research, and serving the needs of the state and people of West Virginia.Provost McConnell is also an academic who has dedicated her career to improving legal education. As a teacher, scholar, and higher education administrator, she has focused on two educational innovations: multidisciplinary learning and clinical legal education.Prior to her appointment as Provost, McConnell served as dean of the WVU College of Law (2008-2014). At the College of Law, she expanded the College’s multidisciplinary opportunities throughout the University and implemented state-of-the-art experiential and clinical programs and facilities that support curricular innovation. She made this possible by raising $36 million in A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University.McConnell was named the 2014 Public Servant of the Year by the West Virginia Association for Justice. In 2010, she was awarded the Special Places Award by West Virginia Land Trust. She earned an undergraduate degree from Evergreen State College, a law degree from Antioch School of Law and a master of laws from Georgetown University Law Center. In addition to being passionately committed to WVU, McConnell is an advocate for LGBTQ rights, for gender equity in the workplace, and for the preservation and protection of our environment. She is a past president of three sections of the Associations of American Law Schools: the sections on the dean, on natural resources and energy law, and on women in legal education. McConnell currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the West Virginia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, President-Elect of the West Virginia Bar Association, and Chair of the 2015 West Virginia University United Way Campaign.In making the Provost appointment last year, WVU President Gordon Gee said of McConnell, “She understands the bold vision of a major land-grant university and its primary mission to serve our state and its citizens. Her commitment to this University and to West Virginia is evident; it’s truly a passion.” Whenever McConnell has a free weekendwhich is not oftenshe escapes to a cabin in Lewisburg, West Virginia to relax, sit in a hammock, and “just be.”

Russell Dean

As the Vice Provost at West Virginia University, Russell K. Dean serves as the Provost’s chief deputy and acts on her behalf in her absence. He also serves as liaison with the appropriate persons and units on all matters involving academic facilities, deals with budget matters as they relate to those units that report to the Provost, develops the University’s request for discretionary WVU Foundation funds, and provides oversight for the Provost’s Office accounts to assure that expenditures from them are in accord with relevant policies. Dr. Dean is also chair of the Information Technology Oversight Committee, vice chair of the University Planning Committee, and co-chair of the Enrollment Management Council.

Dr. Dean has been with WVU since 1979, when he was hired as an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. He is tenured in the College of Engineering and served as the Director of Graduate Programs for the college for four years. He joined the Provost’s Office in 1989 as Assistant Vice President for Curriculum and Instruction, in which role he was responsible for central oversight of all academic programs. Dr. Dean served as Senior Associate Provost from 1999 to 2014. He was made Vice Provost in September, 2014.

C.B. Wilson

Dr. C. B. Wilson is Associate Provost for Academic Personnel at West Virginia University, where he is the Provost’s principal deputy in all matters involving faculty appointments, evaluation, promotion, and tenure. Dr. Wilson is also responsible for matters relating to university faculty awards, sabbatical leaves, and a variety of professional development programs. He is also active on the board of Arts Monongahela and has served on the board of the Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Katherine Karraker

Dr. Katherine Karraker is the Associate Provost for Graduate Academic Affairs at West Virginia University. Her responsibilities include providing oversight for graduate and professional programs, recommending and implementing policy, organizing program reviews and assessment, facilitating graduate student recruitment, retention, and timely degree completion, and managing fellowship, tuition waiver, and professional development programs for graduate students. Dr. Karraker is also a Professor of Psychology.

Elizabeth Dooley

Dr. Elizabeth A. Dooley is Associate Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, and is responsible for providing leadership to the University’s undergraduate academic programs and modes of instruction; leading the institution’s Student Learning Outcomes Assessment; leading the development and implementation of student retention efforts; overseeing the Board of Governor’s program reviews; supervising the Undergraduate Academic Services Center, Center for Civic Engagement, Military Science and Aerospace Studies. Dr. Dooley is also responsible for preparing the annual Higher Education Policy Commission Compact is the lead and contact person for the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement Initiative. Dr. Dooley also serves as the Chair of the WVU Assessment Council, and is a Professor of Special Education and Curriculum & Instruction at the College of Human Resources and Education.

John Campbell

Dr. John P. Campbell is Associate Provost for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. In this role, John is responsible for providing institution-wide leadership to the University’s technology infrastructure. John’s efforts focus on leading the institution’s strategic and resource planning as well as service delivery. Prior to his appointment at WVU, he was the Associate Vice President for Academic Technologies at Purdue University. His responsibilities focused on the support, empowerment, and enhancement of faculty efforts in research and teaching/learning. During the past ten years, John has examined methods to use academic analytics to identify students at risk within courses. He was the founder of the Signals project which has been featured on NBC and in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Signals project has also been awarded the 2012 Noel-Levitz Retention Award, the 2011 Digital Educational Achievement Award, and the 2011 Campus Technology Innovators Award for Teaching and Learning. His doctorate was earned at Purdue University in Higher Education Administration.

Steve Robinson

Dr. Steve Robinson is the University Registrar at West Virginia University. In this role, Dr. Robinson oversees graduation/degree audit, registration, grading and all academic record-keeping for WVU. Prior to his appointment at WVU, he was University Registrar at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and an Associate Registrar at the University of Alabama. His professional experience also includes significant work in academic advising at both the University of Alabama and East Tennessee State University. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from West Virginia University. His doctorate was earned at the University of Alabama in Higher Education Administration.

Nigel Clark

Associate Vice President Dr. Nigel Clark is engaged with changes in the general education curriculum and in implementation of faculty databases. He is also currently serving as Interim Provost for West Virginia University Institute of Technology. He has over 25 years of research experience in alternative fuels, energy efficient transportation and mobile source emissions characterization and reduction. He served for five years as director of the WVU Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions and holds the George B. Berry Chair of Engineering. Dr. Clark served on the Board of Governors from 2009 to 2011 and has chaired the Faculty Senate. In 2010 he chaired the Strategic Planning Council to set the direction for the institution for the decade, and subsequently served as the Associate Vice President for Academic Strategic Planning.

Elizabeth A. Hamilton

Elizabeth A. Hamilton is West Virginia University’s Assistant Vice President for Strategic Action and an Adjunct Professor in the West Virginia University Department of Philosophy. Dr. Hamilton concentrates on integrating academic, financial, and facilities planning to promote efficiency and effectiveness in institutional practices and harmonize practices between units. She also leads the implementation of special, strategic initiatives that advance the institution on behalf of the Office of the Provost and coordinates institutional accreditation. She received her B.A. in philosophy from Northwestern University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Hamilton has research interests in ethics and social and political philosophy; she is particularly interested in theories of autonomy, moral responsibility, and coercion.

Sue Day-Perroots

Dr. Sue Day-Perroots is Associate Vice President for Academic Innovation at West Virginia University. She provides leadership for WVUOnline/Extended Campus, the Teaching and Learning Commons, Summer Session, K12 Digital Initiative and ACCESS courses for high school students. Dr. Day-Perroots directs the successful entrepreneurial models for Online programs and Summer sessions, which has increased enrollments across colleges and resulted in substantial fiscal return. She has built a national reputation for her work in distance education. Over the past three years she has: served as President of the National American Association of Summer Sessions (NAASS) (2010); was named chair of the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) (2013); received the prestigious ADEC Irving Award for Outstanding Leadership (2012); and institutional representative for the APLU-AASCU Distance Education Deregulation Advisory Committee. Day-Perroots has also serves as a Peer Reviewer and Team Chair for the Higher Learning Commission.